Possibility of Objective knowledge of External World in Ibn Sina and Mulla Sadra's Philosophy

Although peripatetic and transcendent schools of philosophy have not dealt with epistemological problems independently and specifically as in western philosophy in modern times, each has touched them in course of its own ontological discussions and attempted to explain the way knowledge of eternal world is obtained. Ibn Sina and Mulla Sadra as preeminent representative of these two great schools have presented innovative views on the object, subject as well as nature of knowledge in accordance with their own ontology. Avicenna regarded knowledge of external world as a sort of abstraction and accordingly held 'natural universal' as extra-mentally real of which human soul endowed with internal and external faculties can obtain knowledge imparted by Active Intellect. To his own satisfaction Ibn Sina in this way explained the occurrence of objective knowledge. Mulla Sadra on the other hand with his "existentialistic" view provided different explanation for the problem. In this view, what constitutes external world is not quiddity but existence hence realization of 'natural universal' does not make sense to him. Human soul is an existence with degrees identified as its own faculties. Knowledge of external world is an abstraction but of is a higher degree of existence in different levels. To Mulla Sadar this higher degree can guarantee objectivity of knowledge of external world. This article is an attempt to make a comparative study of Ibn Sina and Mulla Sadra in respect with the possibility of objective knowledge of external world.